Nonvolatile memory structure and fabrication method thereof

ABSTRACT

According to one embodiment, a single-poly nonvolatile memory (NVM) cell includes a PMOS select transistor on a semiconductor substrate and a PMOS floating gate transistor series connected to the PMOS select transistor. The PMOS floating gate transistor comprises a floating gate and a gate oxide layer between the floating gate and the semiconductor substrate. A protector oxide layer covers and is in direct contact with the floating gate. A contact etch stop layer is disposed on the protector oxide layer such that the floating gate is isolated from the contact etch stop layer by the protector oxide layer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No.61/883,205 filed Sep. 27, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of nonvolatilememory devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to asingle-poly nonvolatile memory cell structure with improved dataretention.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Non-volatile memory (NVM) is a type of memory that retains informationit stores even when no power is supplied to memory blocks thereof. Someexamples include magnetic devices, optical discs, flash memory, andother semiconductor-based memory topologies.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,678,190 discloses a single-poly NVM havingtwo serially connected PMOS transistors wherein the control gate isomitted in the structure for layout as the bias is not necessary toapply to the floating gate during the programming mode. A first PMOStransistor acts as a select transistor. A second PMOS transistor isconnected to the first PMOS transistor. A gate of the second PMOStransistor serves as a floating gate. The floating gate is selectivelyprogrammed or erased to store predetermined charges.

It is desirable that the charge stored on a floating gate is retainedfor as long as possible, thereby increasing the data retention time ofthe NVM.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the invention to provide an improved single-polynonvolatile memory cell structure with improved data retention.

According to one embodiment, a single-poly nonvolatile memory (NVM) cellincludes a PMOS select transistor on an N well of a semiconductorsubstrate and a PMOS floating gate transistor series connected to thePMOS select transistor. The PMOS select transistor comprises a selectgate, a first gate oxide layer between the select gate and thesemiconductor substrate, a first sidewall spacer provided on eithersidewall of the select gate, a first P-type source/drain doping regionin the N well, and a second P-type source/drain doping region spacedapart from the first P-type source/drain doping region. The PMOSfloating gate transistor comprises a floating gate, a second gate oxidelayer between the floating gate and the semiconductor substrate, asecond sidewall spacer provided on either sidewall of the floating gate,the second P-type source/drain doping region commonly shared by the PMOSselect transistor, and a third P-type source/drain doping region spacedapart from the second P-type source/drain doping region.

A first self-aligned silicide (salicide) layer is disposed on the firstP-type source/drain doping region. A second salicide layer is disposedon the second P-type source/drain doping region. The second salicidelayer is contiguous with an edge of a bottom of the first sidewallspacer, but is kept a predetermined distance from an edge of a bottom ofthe second sidewall spacer. A protector oxide layer covers and isindirect contact with the floating gate. A contact etch stop layer isdisposed on the protector oxide layer such that the floating gate isisolated from the contact etch stop layer by the protector oxide layer.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the embodiments, and are incorporated in and constituteapart of this specification. The drawings illustrate some of theembodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain theirprinciples. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a nonvolatile memorylayout according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic, cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a nonvolatile memorylayout according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein anadditional UV blocking layer is provided;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a NVM layout accordingto another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic, cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showingsingle-poly NVM cells, which are compatible with high-voltage processes;

FIG. 8 is a schematic layout diagram showing yet another embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram illustrating the major stages offabricating the single-poly nonvolatile memory (NVM) according to theinvention.

It should be noted that all the figures are diagrammatic. Relativedimensions and proportions of parts of the drawings are exaggerated orreduced in size, for the sake of clarity and convenience. The samereference signs are generally used to refer to corresponding or similarfeatures in modified and different embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are given toprovide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will, however, beapparent to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practicedwithout these specific details. Furthermore, some well-known systemconfigurations and process steps are not disclosed in detail, as theseshould be well-known to those skilled in the art. Other embodiments maybe utilized and structural, logical, and electrical changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention.

Likewise, the drawings showing embodiments of the apparatus aresemi-diagrammatic and not to scale and some dimensions are exaggeratedin the figures for clarity of presentation. Also, where multipleembodiments are disclosed and described as having some features incommon, like or similar features will usually be described with likereference numerals for ease of illustration and description thereof.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of aportion of a single-poly nonvolatile memory (NVM) according to oneembodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic, cross-sectional viewtaken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, aplurality of line-shaped active areas 101 elongating along a firstdirection (i.e. the reference x-axis) are provided in a semiconductorsubstrate 100 such as a P-type silicon substrate (P-Sub). The activeareas 101 are isolated from one another by shallow trench isolation(STI) regions 102 interposed between the active areas 101. In FIG. 1,only two rows of active areas 101 are shown. A plurality of word lines12 (e.g. WL_(x-1) and WL_(x) in FIG. 1) are formed on the main surfaceof the semiconductor substrate 100. The word lines 12 extend along asecond direction (i.e. the reference y-axis) and intersect the activeareas 101 to form select transistors (ST) at the intersections. Each ofthe word lines 12 also acts as a select gate (SG) of the respectiveselect transistor. In FIG. 1, only two columns of word lines 12 areshown for the sake of simplicity. According to the embodiment, the firstdirection is orthogonal to the second direction.

The single-poly NVM 1 further comprises a plurality of floating gatesegments 14 for charge storage, which are disposed along each of theactive areas 101 between the word lines 12 such that only two floatinggate segments 14 or two floating gate transistors (FT) are arrangedbetween two adjacent word lines 12. For example, two mirror-symmetricalNVM cells: C₁ and C₂ of the same row are labeled in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 onthe active area 101. The NVM cell C₁ comprises a select transistor ST₁and a floating gate transistor FT₁ that is series connected to theselect transistor ST₁. Likewise, the NVM cell C₂ comprises a selecttransistor ST₂ and a floating gate transistor FT₂ that is seriesconnected to the select transistor ST₂. The NVM cell C₁ and NVM cell C₂share the same bit line contact (BC) region.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the select transistor ST₁ comprises aselect gate (SG) 12, a gate oxide layer 120 between the select gate (SG)12 and the semiconductor substrate 100, a sidewall spacer 122 providedon either sidewall of the select gate (SG) 12, a P-type source/draindoping region 112 in an N well (NW) 110, a P-type lightly doped drain(PLDD) region 112 a merged with the P-type source/drain doping region112, a P-type source/drain doping region 114 spaced apart from theP-type source/drain doping region 112, and a PLDD region 114 a mergedwith the P-type source/drain doping region 114. In operation, a P-typechannel may be formed between the PLDD region 112 a and the PLDD region114 a underneath the select gate (SG) 12. The floating gate transistorFT₁ comprises a floating gate (FG) 14, a gate oxide layer 140 betweenthe floating gate (FG) 14 and the semiconductor substrate 100, asidewall spacer 142 is provided on either sidewall of the floating gate(FG) 14, the P-type source/drain doping region 114, a PLDD region 114 bmerged with the P-type source/drain doping region 114, a P-typesource/drain doping region 116 spaced apart from the P-type source/draindoping region 114, and a PLDD region 116 a merged with the P-typesource/drain doping region 116. The P-type source/drain doping region114 is shared by the select transistor ST₁ and the floating gatetransistor FT₁. According to the embodiment, the select gate (SG) 12 andthe floating gate (FG) 14 are made of single-layer polysilicon, which isfully compatible with logic processes.

According to the embodiment, the thickness of the gate oxide layer 140of the floating gate transistor FT₁ may be thicker than the gate oxidelayer of the logic transistor devices, for example, those transistordevices in the peripheral circuit of the same memory chip. The thickergate oxide layer 140 may improve the data retention of the single-polyNVM 1. In another embodiment, the thickness of the gate oxide layer 140may be the same with the thickness of the gate oxide layer 120.

A self-aligned silicide (salicide) layer 212 is provided on the P-typesource/drain doping region 112. The self-aligned silicide layer 212extends to the edge of the bottom of the sidewall spacer 122. On theopposite side of the select gate (SG) 12, a self-aligned silicide layer214 is provided on the P-type source/drain doping region 114. Theself-aligned silicide layer 214 is contiguous with the edge of thebottom of the sidewall spacer 122, but is kept a predetermined distancefrom the edge of the bottom of the sidewall spacer 142. In other words,the self-aligned silicide layer 212 covers the entire surface area ofthe P-type source/drain doping region 112, while the self-alignedsilicide layer 214 covers only a portion of the surface area of theP-type source/drain doping region 114 adjacent to the sidewall spacer122, and the self-aligned silicide layer 214 is spaced apart from theedge of the spacer 142. Likewise, on the opposite side of the floatinggate (FG) 14, a self-aligned silicide layer 216 is provided on theP-type source/drain doping region 116. The self-aligned silicide layer216 is kept a predetermined distance from the edge of the bottom of thespacer 142. A self-aligned silicide layer 210 is provided on the topsurface of the select gate (SG) 12. It is noteworthy that no silicidelayer is formed on the top surface of the floating gate (SG) 14.

A protector oxide layer 300 is provided to cover the floating gate (FG)14. According to the embodiment, the protector oxide layer 300 maycomprise silicon oxide, but not limited thereto. The protector oxidelayer 300 covers the top surface of the floating gate (FG) 14, thesurfaces of the spacers 142, a portion of the surface of the P-typesource/drain doping region 114, and a portion of the P-type source/draindoping region 116. The aforesaid self-aligned silicide layers 214 and216 are formed only on the surface area of the P-type source/draindoping regions 114 and 116 not covered by the protector oxide layer 300.The predetermined area covered by the protector oxide layer 300 is shownin FIG. 1 indicated with dashed line.

The non-salicided region in the P-type source/drain doping region 114between the spacer 142 and the self-aligned silicide layer 214, and thenon-salicided region in the P-type source/drain doping region 116between the spacer 142 and the self-aligned silicide layer 216 canreduce defect induced BTB (band-to-band) tunneling disturbance.

A conformal contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 is then deposited overthe protector oxide layer 300 to cover the select gate (SG) 12, thefloating gate (FG) 14, the self-aligned silicide layers 212, 214, and216. According to the embodiment, the conformal contact etch stop layer(CESL) 312 is a silicon nitride layer and may be deposited by using aplasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. The siliconto nitride ratio in the conformal contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 isadjusted (e.g. by tuning the SiH₄/NH₃ ratio in the reaction chamber) toreduce the electron trapping ability thereof. It is noteworthy that thecontact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 is not in direct contact with thefloating gate (FG) 14 or the spacer 142 because of the protector oxidelayer 300. By isolating the floating gate (FG) 14 from the contact etchstop layer (CESL) 312 with the protector oxide layer 300, the dataretention characteristic of the single-poly NVM 1 is much improved.

An inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 320 is deposited on the contactetch stop layer (CESL) 312. The inter-layer dielectric layer 320 isthicker than the contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 and is deposited tocompletely fill the space between the select gate (SG) 12 and thefloating gate (FG) 14. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process maybe carried out, if necessary, to planarize the top surface of theinter-layer dielectric layer 320. A source line contact 321 and a bitline contact 322 are formed in the inter-layer dielectric layer 320. Asource line (SL) and a bit line (BL) may be defined in the first metallayer (ML₁) to respectfully connect to the source line contact 321 andthe bit line contact 322.

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a portion ofa nonvolatile memory layout according to another embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 3, the layout of the memory cells is similarto that as depicted in FIG. 1 except for that in order to furtherenhance the data retention of the single-poly NVM 1 when used as anone-time program (OTP) memory, an additional ultraviolet (UV) blockinglayer 400 may be disposed within the memory array region to at leastcompletely cover or be disposed directly above the floating gate (FG)14. The UV blocking layer 400 may be any layer in the dielectric filmsdeposited on the substrate 100, which has the ability to block orscatter UV radiation. For example, the UV blocking layer 400 may be asilicon nitride layer in the passivation structure or a dummy metallayer. The aforesaid silicon nitride layer in the passivation structuremay be deposited by using PECVD methods or LPCVD methods, and may have arefractive index that is greater than a predetermined value.

Please refer now to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan viewof a portion of a NVM layout according to another embodiment of theinvention. FIG. 5 is a schematic, cross-sectional view taken along lineII-II′ of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, likewise, a pluralityof line-shaped active areas 101 elongating along a first direction (i.e.the reference x-axis) are provided in a semiconductor substrate 100 suchas a P-type silicon substrate (P-Sub). The active areas 101 are isolatedfrom one another by shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 102interposed between the active areas 101. In FIG. 4, only two rows ofactive areas 101 are shown. A plurality of word lines 12 (e.g. WL_(x-1)and WL_(x) in FIG. 4) are formed on the main surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100. The word lines 12 extend along a seconddirection (i.e. the reference y-axis) and intersect the active areas 101to form select transistors (ST) at the intersections. Each of the wordlines 12 also acts as a select gate (SG) of the respective selecttransistor. In FIG. 4, only two columns of word lines 12 are shown forthe sake of simplicity. According to the embodiment, the first directionis orthogonal to the second direction.

The single-poly NVM 1 a further comprises a plurality of floating gatesegments 14 for charge storage, which are disposed along each of theactive areas 101 between the word lines 12 such that only two floatinggate segments 14 or two floating gate transistors (FT) are arrangedbetween two adjacent word lines 12. For example, two mirror-symmetricalNVM cells: C₁ and C₂ of the same row are labeled in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 onthe active area 101. The NVM cell C₁ comprises a select transistor ST₁and a floating gate transistor FT₁ that is series connected to theselect transistor ST₁. Likewise, the NVM cell C₂ comprises a selecttransistor ST₂ and a floating gate transistor FT₂ that is seriesconnected to the select transistor ST₂. The NVM cell C₁ and NVM cell C₂share the same bit line contact (BC) region.

As shown in FIG. 5, the select transistor ST₁ comprises a select gate(SG) 12, a gate oxide layer 120 between the select gate (SG) 12 and thesemiconductor substrate 100, a sidewall spacer 122 is provided on eithersidewall of the select gate (SG) 12, a P-type source/drain doping region112 in an N well (NW) 110, a PLDD region 112 a merged with the P-typesource/drain doping region 112, a P-type source/drain doping region 114spaced apart from the P-type source/drain doping region 112, and a PLDDregion 114 a merged with the P-type source/drain doping region 114. Inoperation, a P-type channel may be formed between the PLDD region 112 aand the PLDD region 114 a underneath the select gate (SG) 12. Thefloating gate transistor FT₁ comprises a floating gate (FG) 14, a gateoxide layer 140 between the floating gate (FG) 14 and the semiconductorsubstrate 100, a sidewall spacer 142 is provided on either sidewall ofthe floating gate (FG) 14, the P-type source/drain doping region 114, aPLDD region 114 b merged with the P-type source/drain doping region 114,a P-type source/drain doping region 116 spaced apart from the P-typesource/drain doping region 114, and a PLDD region 116 a merged with theP-type source/drain doping region 116. The P-type source/drain dopingregion 114 is shared by the select transistor ST₁ and the floating gatetransistor FT₁. According to the embodiment, the select gate (SG) 12 andthe floating gate (FG) 14 are made of single-layer polysilicon, which isfully compatible with logic processes.

A self-aligned silicide layer 212 is provided on the P-type source/draindoping region 112. The self-aligned silicide layer 212 extends to theedge of the bottom of the sidewall spacer 122. On the opposite side ofthe select gate (SG) 12, no self-aligned silicide layer is provided onthe P-type source/drain doping region 114. A self-aligned silicide layer216 is provided on the P-type source/drain doping region 116. Theself-aligned silicide layer 216 is kept a predetermined distance fromthe edge of the bottom of the sidewall spacer 142. A self-alignedsilicide layer 210 is provided on the top surface of the select gate(SG) 12. It is noteworthy that no silicide layer is formed on the topsurface of the floating gate (SG) 14.

A protector oxide layer 300 is provided to cover the floating gate (FG)14. According to the embodiment, the protector oxide layer 300 maycomprise silicon oxide, but not limited thereto. The protector oxidelayer 300 covers and is in direct contact with the top surface of thefloating gate (FG) 14, the surfaces of the sidewall spacers 142, theentire surface of the P-type source/drain doping region 114, and only aportion of the P-type source/drain doping region 116. The aforesaidself-aligned silicide layer 216 is formed only on the surface area ofthe P-type source/drain doping region 116 not covered by the protectoroxide layer 300. The predetermined area covered by the protector oxidelayer 300 is shown in FIG. 4 indicated with dashed line. Thesource/drain doping region 114 is completely covered by the protectoroxide layer 300 according to the embodiment.

A conformal contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 is deposited over theprotector oxide layer 300 to cover the select gate (SG) 12, the floatinggate (FG) 14, the self-aligned silicide layers 212 and 216. According tothe embodiment, the conformal contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 may bea silicon nitride layer and may be deposited by using a plasma enhancedchemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. The silicon to nitride ratioin the conformal contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 is adjusted (e.g. bytuning the SiH₄/NH₃ ratio in the reaction chamber) to reduce theelectron trapping ability thereof. It is understood that the conformalcontact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 may be any suitable material havingreduced electron trapping ability, and is not limited to the aforesaidexample. It is noteworthy that the contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 isnot in direct contact with the floating gate (FG) 14 or the sidewallspacer 142 because of the protector oxide layer 300. By isolating thefloating gate (FG) 14 from the contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 withthe protector oxide layer 300, the data retention characteristic of thesingle-poly NVM 1 a is much improved.

An inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 320 is deposited on the contactetch stop layer (CESL) 312. The inter-layer dielectric layer 320 isthicker than the contact etch stop layer (CESL) 312 and is deposited tocompletely fill the space between the select gate (SG) 12 and thefloating gate (FG) 14. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process maybe carried out, if necessary, to planarize the top surface of theinter-layer dielectric layer 320. A source line contact 321 and a bitline contact 322 are formed in the inter-layer dielectric layer 320 toelectrically connected to the P-type source/drain doping region 112 andP-type source/drain doping region 116 respectively. A source line (SL)and a bit line (BL) may be defined in the first metal layer (ML₁) torespectfully connect to the source line contact 321 and the bit linecontact 322.

Please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are schematic,cross-sectional diagrams showing single-poly NVM cells in accordancewith other embodiments, which are compatible with high-voltageprocesses. As shown in FIG. 6, the single-poly NVM 1 c comprises a deepN well (DNW) 610 added under the N well 110. According to theembodiment, the N well 110 may be a medium-voltage N well (MVNW). Ahigh-voltage N well (HVNW) 612 is provided in the semiconductorsubstrate 100 and is merged with the deep N well 610. The high-voltage Nwell (HVNW) 612 is isolated from the single-poly NVM cell string by anSTI region 620.

As shown in FIG. 7, the single-poly NVM 1 d is different from thesingle-poly NVM 1 c of FIG. 6 in that an N-type buried layer (NBL) 712is provided under the high-voltage N well (HVPW) 612. A high-voltage Pwell (HVPW) 710 is provided between the N-type buried layer (NBL) 712and the medium-voltage N well (MVNW) 110.

Please refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a schematic layout diagram showing yetanother embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 8, an exemplarymultiple-time programmable (MTP) memory is illustrated. The floatinggate (FG) of the MTP memory may extend in the second direction (i.e. thereference y-axis) to capacitively couple to the adjacent active areas101′ and 101″, thereby forming a control gate (CG) region and an erasegate (EG) region, respectively. Likewise, the protector oxide layer 300is provided to completely cover the floating gate (FG), the control gate(CG) region, and the erase gate (EG) region. The above-describedextending device may be an NMOS FET, a PMOS FET, an N-type MOScapacitor, or a P-type MOS capacitor. The aforesaid floating gate (FG),the control gate (CG) region, and the erase gate (EG) region disposedalong the same floating poly strip can improve charge retentionperformance by using the above-disclosed techniques.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram illustrating the major stages offabricating the single-poly nonvolatile memory (NVM) according to theinvention. As shown in FIG. 9, in Step 91, STI regions and active areasare formed on the semiconductor substrate. Thereafter, well implants areperformed to form well structure in the semiconductor substrate. InStep, 92, a polysilicon layer is deposited and is then patterned intosingl-poly floating gates. In Step 93, spacers are formed on thesidewalls of the gates. In Step 94, a protector oxide layer is formedover the single-poly floating gates in the cell array. In Step 95, asilicide layer is formed on the source/drain regions. In Step 96, acontact etch stop layer (CESL) is then deposited.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

1. A single-poly nonvolatile memory (NVM) cell, comprising: a selecttransistor on a first well of a semiconductor substrate, wherein theselect transistor comprises a select gate, a first gate oxide layerbetween the select gate and the semiconductor substrate, a firstsource/drain doping region in the first well, and a second source/draindoping region spaced apart from the first source/drain doping region; afloating gate transistor on the first well serially connected to theselect transistor, wherein the PMOS floating gate transistor comprises afloating gate, a second gate oxide layer between the floating gate andthe semiconductor substrate, the second source/drain doping regioncommonly shared by the select transistor, and a third source/draindoping region spaced apart from the second source/drain doping region; afirst salicide layer on the first source/drain doping region; aprotector oxide layer covering and being in direct contact with thefloating gate; and a contact etch stop layer on the protector oxidelayer such that the floating gate is isolated from the contact etch stoplayer by the protector oxide layer.
 2. The single-poly NVM cellaccording to claim 1 further comprises a first sidewall spacer providedon either sidewall of the select gate, and a second sidewall spacerprovided on either sidewall of the floating gate.
 3. The single-poly NVMcell according to claim 2 wherein the first salicide layer extends to anedge of a bottom of the sidewall spacer.
 4. The single-poly NVM cellaccording to claim 2 further comprising a second salicide layer on thesecond source/drain doping region, wherein the second salicide layer iscontiguous with an edge of a bottom of the first sidewall spacer, but iskept a predetermined distance from an edge of a bottom of the secondsidewall spacer.
 5. The single-poly NVM cell according to claim 4further comprising a third salicide layer on the third source/draindoping region, wherein the third salicide layer is kept a predetermineddistance from an edge of a bottom of the second sidewall spacer.
 6. Thesingle-poly NVM cell according to claim 5 further comprising a fourthsalicide layer on a top surface of the select gate.
 7. The single-polyNVM cell according to claim 1 wherein no silicide layer is formed on atop surface of the floating gate.
 8. The single-poly NVM cell accordingto claim 1 further comprising an inter-layer dielectric layer on thecontact etch stop layer.
 9. The single-poly NVM cell according to claim8 further comprising a source line contact and a bit line contact in theinter-layer dielectric layer to electrically connected to the firstsource/drain doping region and the third source/drain doping regionrespectively.
 10. The single-poly NVM cell according to claim 1 whereinthe protector oxide layer is a silicon oxide layer.
 11. The single-polyNVM cell according to claim 2 wherein the protector oxide layer coversand is in direct contact with a top surface of the floating gate,surfaces of the second sidewall spacers, only a portion of the secondsource/drain doping region, and only a portion of the third source/draindoping region.
 12. The single-poly NVM cell according to claim 2 whereinthe protector oxide layer covers and is in direct contact with a topsurface of the floating gate, surfaces of the second sidewall spacers,entire surface of the second source/drain doping region, and only aportion of the third source/drain doping region.
 13. The single-poly NVMcell according to claim 5 wherein the third salicide layer is formedonly on the surface area of the third source/drain doping region notcovered by the protector oxide layer.
 14. The single-poly NVM cellaccording to claim 1 further comprising a UV blocking layer completelycovering or being disposed directly above the floating gate.
 15. Thesingle-poly NVM cell according to claim 1 further comprising a deep Nwell disposed under the first well.
 16. The single-poly NVM cellaccording to claim 1 wherein the first well is a medium-voltage N well.17. The single-poly NVM cell according to claim 16 further comprising ahigh-voltage P well disposed under the medium-voltage N well, and an Ntype buried layer disposed under the high-voltage P well.
 18. Thesingle-poly NVM cell according to claim 1 wherein the second gate oxidelayer is thicker than the first gate oxide layer.
 19. The single-polyNVM cell according to claim 1 wherein the floating gate may extend tocapacitively couple to an erase gate region.
 20. The single-poly NVMcell according to claim 19 wherein the protector oxide layer furthercompletely covers the erase gate region.
 21. The single-poly NVM cellaccording to claim 1 wherein the floating gate is further capacitivelycoupled to a control gate region and an erase gate region.
 22. Thesingle-poly NVM cell according to claim 21 wherein the protector oxidelayer completely covers the control gate region and the erase gateregion.